All About Seduction(124)

Jack entered the room behind her, carrying the lamp with both hands as he slowly limped over to set the light on a crate near his bed. He turned back and watched her, his head tilted to the side.

She knew he wanted to be a part of her life when Mr. Broadhurst was gone, but did he think of her as separate from the Broadhurst money? Would he want her without the wealth?

Jack stood by his bed, his heart thundering in his ears. He wasn’t sure why Caroline had come, but she looked ready to bolt. “I do not know how long Mrs. Goode will be out, but seldom is it less than two hours.”

He wanted to make love to her, but she hadn’t even pulled back her hood. Her face was shadowed and he couldn’t fully read her expression.

The storeroom where he slept was hardly the sort of luxury she was used to. The wooden floors were bare, the walls flat plaster. He slept amid boxes and empty bottles waiting to be returned. Did the simple way he lived put her off?

Not knowing what she would do, he held out his hand.

It seemed to be the impetus she needed as she flew toward him. He caught her to him and kissed her hard. Yanking free the strings of her cloak, he pushed the garment from her shoulders.

His blood fired as he tasted passion on her lips. She strained against him, mewing softly. Need, want, desire pounded in him. Seeing her every day and denying his feelings had built his cravings for her to an explosive force. He couldn’t hold back, any more than he could have leapt over the moon.

He yanked at her buttons as she pushed his braces off his shoulders. Breaking the kiss only long enough to yank his shirt over his head, he struggled to find the sanity to be gentle. Her hands against his skin electrified him. Her lips against his exhilarated him. Her being with him elated him.

Impatient, he yanked down her dress. She wiggled, helping him push it below her hips, where it fell to the floor.

For one heedless second he remembered she needed coaxing and patience and deplored grabbing and squeezing. But he was no longer a man in constant pain with a leg that needed to be coddled. He was hard and urgent for her.

He pulled back, his breath roaring like a bellows. “Caro . . . too long. Can’t be gentle.”

“I don’t care. I want you.” Her fingers slid under his waistband and she worked at the button.

Sliding his hand under the material between their chests, he rubbed her breast and bit her bottom lip. She put her hand over his, pushing and curling her fingers around his as her nipple tightened under his palm. He sucked on the sore spot he’d created. She had his trousers open and was easing them down his hips.

Reluctantly, he let go of her and shoved them and his smalls down and unbuckled his brace. He twisted so the two of them fell on his narrow bed. He kissed her deeply. She was like air to a drowning man. He needed her, she was here, and he had to be inside her.

Yet, there was too much material between them. She still wore some white thing that was half unbuttoned at the neck. He grabbed both sides and yanked, rending the material. The baring of her skin made him growl. He slid his hands over her slightly rounded stomach and pushed her legs open to touch her slick folds.

She arched and drew his hand to her breast, while she reached lower and gripped his cock. Heat and pleasure burned in him, and he fought to keep from spilling his seed in her hand.

“I need you,” she whispered, and he was lost.

He knew he was probably rushing faster than she could keep up. He wanted her passion burning as hot as his. “Stay with me,” he murmured as he spread her legs wider and positioned his cock against her core.

Her hips twisted and she moaned deep in her throat.

He flicked the button at the apex of her folds and plucked at the tightened tip of her breast. Using everything he knew about how she responded, he pushed her toward completion.

“Come with me,” he urged against her lips as he thrust inside her.

She moaned and arched and then whispered, “Anywhere,” before pulling his head to hers and kissing him.

Anywhere? But he didn’t have time to fathom her odd response as pleasure rolled through him. Lost in her scent and softness, he thrust deeply. She wound her legs around his waist, spurring him to completion. The mound of her belly against his stomach only intensified his desire for her. She was his, and they’d created life together.

The passion drove him higher and higher, until he groaned out his climax. She twisted and strained toward him, then cried out as her body throbbed around him, intensifying his pleasure.

Although her response was everything he hoped for, he cringed, thinking he might have hurt her. He pressed kisses on her eyelids and nose. Her eyes fluttered open. “Goodness.”